Family and community demand accountability for death of 13-year-old boy killed by police in New York

By the Associated Press

Relatives of a 13-year-old boy shot and killed by police in central New York were demanding justice as members of their Myanmar immigrant community sought Sunday to pressure local authorities into providing justice. accounts.

The state attorney general was investigating the shooting of Nyah Mway, who Utica police wrestled to the ground and then shot after a chase Friday.

Police, who are conducting their own investigation, released body camera video showing a youth appearing to point an object at them before taking them to the ground. The object was a BB gun that looked like a real firearm, police said.

As the official investigation continued, Nyah Mway's family and outraged community members demanded accountability for the death of the teenager, who was born in Myanmar and a member of the Karen ethnic minority.

Utica residents of Karen descent planned to meet Sunday afternoon with Utica Mayor Michael P. Galime, said Daniel Cribb, who works with a Karen community group. A message seeking comment was sent to the mayor's office.

At a vigil Saturday night, Nyah Mway's brother, Lah, said through an interpreter that he would not be satisfied until the officers “are put in jail,” Syracuse reported. com.

Others at the vigil questioned officials' account of the shooting.

“None of this makes any sense,” said Kay Klo, one of the people at the meeting.

Police say Nyah Mway and another 13-year-old boy were arrested Friday night because they matched the descriptions of suspects in an armed robbery that occurred Thursday in the same area. One of them was also walking on the road, which is a violation of the state's traffic laws.

Body camera video shows a police officer saying he needs to search them to check if they have weapons. Then one of the teens, identified as Nyah Mway, runs away, turns around and appears to point a black object at them.

Officers believed it was a handgun, police said, but it was later determined to be a pellet gun that closely resembled a Glock 17 Gen 5 pistol with a detachable magazine. Police released an image showing that the device lacked the orange stripe on the barrel that many pellet gun manufacturers have added in recent years to distinguish their products from firearms.

Officer Bryce Patterson caught up with Nyah Mway, tackled him to the ground and punched him. As the two fought on the ground, Officer Patrick Husnay opened fire, body camera video showed. Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said at a news conference Saturday that the gunshot hit the young man in the chest.

A witness video posted on Facebook also shows a police officer tackling and punching the teen as two other officers arrive, and then a gunshot rings out as the teen is on the ground.

Husnay, Patterson and Officer Andrew Citriniti have been placed on paid administrative leave while investigations continue.

Under New York law, the attorney general's office investigates every death that occurs at the hands of law enforcement. The Utica Police Department's investigation, meanwhile, will determine whether officers followed policies and training.

The police chief called the shooting “a tragic and traumatic incident for everyone involved.”

Utica's population of 65,000 includes more than 4,200 people from Myanmar, according to The Center, a nonprofit group that helps resettle refugees.

The Karen are among the groups at war with the military rulers of Myanmar, a Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma. The military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and cracked down on widespread nonviolent protests demanding a return to democratic rule.

Nyah Mway and her family arrived in the United States nine years ago, according to speakers at the vigil.

“This country is supposed to be a country of freedom, a country of peace,” said one of the speakers, Yadana Oo. ” What is going on ? Have we fled from one persecutor to another? »